ABSTRACT
In early 2014, the city of Hamburg, Germany, made headlines with a development plan that allegedly aimed to eliminate cars from its streets in 20 years (Quirk, 2014; Paterson, 2014), replacing auto transport with walking and cycling. Addressing whether this was possible, the British Broadcasting Corporation reported that “city officials obviously feel that the personal motorcar does not fulfill a function that walking, biking and taking public transport cannot” (Stewart, 2014). In health terms, such a bold step would mean a reduction in the 10,000 injured and over 30 human deaths per year caused by pedestrian and bicycle encounters with vehicles in the city (Statistisches Bundesamt, 2013). There would also be other noted positive mental and physical health effects associated with increased levels of physical activity. So, how did Hamburg plan to achieve this? At the heart of the headline-grabbing plan was a Grünes Netz (green network) of interconnected open areas that would cover approximately 40 percent of the city. This network complemented sidewalks and bike lanes on roadways with a separate green transportation system dedicated to walking and cycling modes.
